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28.7.08

Reading Schiller’s The Robbers from a contemporary atheist perspective

The question of whether god exists and criticisms of the socio-political effects of religious institutions is perhaps as old as god(s) and the institutions themselves.

Recent contemporary atheist texts by Richard Dawkins, Michel Onfray and Christopher Hitchens, present an aggressive case against the three dominant monotheistic religions and attempt to open a dialogue concerning the new secular society they believe we are already shifting toward.

Friedrich Schiller’s epic Enlightenment-era play The Robbers continues to resonate to audiences at the dawn of the twenty-first century and is a powerful representation of the recurring arguments in atheist discourse, contrary to Schiller’s stated intentions for the play.

Comparing Schiller’s The Robbers and these current atheist texts reveals some startling similarities that suggest atheism is the answer when god is in question.